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Friday, May 31, 2013

This week the YA Author Club will be debating the subjective standards associated with the perfect length of a book. It's something we all struggle with, and unfortunately, everyone has a different opinion. There are - however - suggestions and recommendations that can be made and guidelines that can be followed.
Before you begin writing a book, you should create a goal in your mind about it's final length. Base it off the genre and/or your preferred publishers' recommendations. If you're not sure, you can go to the publisher's site and locate their submission guidelines. I should mention that 70-120,000 words appears to be a standard, but there are those who won't take anything more than 85,000 words. If you have publishers you want to target, it's important to find out their expectations before you start.
As you write your story, you'll want to track your word count (adding your ultimate goal and periodically checking to see where you are with your book). This will help you in two ways. If you create goals for your daily word count, you will stay on track as you write your book. It will also help you keep an eye on the end. You don't want the ending to sneak up on you or the most important part of your book to feel rushed. Below, you will see my word tracker for Underground (Secrets, #2) due out in the next few months. I plan for this book to be just shy of 100,000 words. As such, you can tell that I'm 86% done. Knowing I'm this close to the end, I'm working hard to create a perfectly controlled drive toward the finish line.Below the tracker, I've added the code for those interested. Pay close attention to the numbers in red. The first is the current word count. The second is my goal word count.<img src="http://picometer.writertopia.com/words=84279&target=97000" />The final length of a book is all about the author's book release goals and creative preferences. I say this because there are authors publishing books a lot more frequently than I'm able to. When I stop and take note of their word counts and/or the number of pages for their books, I notice their books are in some cases half the word count of mine. There are many reasons to write shorter books. 1) The author is able to release books more often, and we all know the more books you release the better chance you have of standing out from the crowd. 2) The author will have more books for sale which automatically drives up their sale numbers. 3) There are lots of readers who are willing to commit to a 2-3 hour read. There are not as many readers who are willing to take 6-8 hours to read a book. Their time is precious. They want to begin a book and finish it in one sitting.There are just as many reasons to write a longer book. 1) An author can start out slower, allowing the reader to bond with the characters through sight, touch, feel, smell, and touch because the author is giving the reader the opportunity to put themselves within the story. 2) The longer story can feel more epic to the reader once they're finished. 3) The author can spend time weaving and creating complex story-lines and character's strengths and weaknesses, making them more believable as the reader is shown characteristics and moral decisions rather than being told what they are or what they would be. (Not to say a shorter book can't accomplish some of these same things.)Anyone who has ever read my books knows that I'm all about a 400 page book (approximately 100,000 words). I do this knowing that I'm going to turn some readers off instantly, and that I'm going to sell fewer books than I would if I divided the story up over two/three books rather than one. I mostly do it because I'm comfortable with that word count. At this length, I know I'll be able to start a book off slowly, quietly build anxiety and tension, develop a heart-stopping tale, and end the story on a note that makes it feel like there's a resolution (at least to that moment of crisis).Tell me your opinion. Would you prefer a short book or a long book? Why? (Include the number of pages you prefer.)

Q: What blogger would you most like to meet in a real life? Tell us about him or her.

A: I participate in an Indie Author Club. My co-contributors are all amazingly special authors and especially dear to my heart. Because we've never met in person, I'd love to spend a weekend with them talking about our indie author adventures and letting them tell me (from their own mouths) the inspirations for their stories/characters. I've listed just a few of them below:

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Tuesday, May 28, 2013

The YA Indie Author Club is having another great week of releases. This week, we are going to ask you to join us in supporting K.C. Blake. She's as dedicated to writing great stories as any author I've ever met in person or virtually.

At
sixteen Bay-Lee is not your typical girl. She doesn't even try to fit in at
school. What's the point when she'll be moving to a new place within a few
months?

She's
lived her whole life on the run, hiding from monsters.

Then
a reaper uses her closet to cross over from the Spirit Realm. It has a message
for her. Just when she's about to join her father at his school for hunters she
finds out they are dying on their birthdays. Something is killing them,
slipping past locked doors, never leaving a trace of evidence, and her birthday
is only two months away.

Becoming
a hunter isn't exactly her dream come true. She's doing it for her mother, for
revenge, for justice. Nothing is going to get in her way, least of all love.
Then she looks up into a pair of jungle green eyes and everything changes.

Author Bio:

Born
and raised in sunny California, K.C. Blake fell in love with books at a young
age and decided to pursue writing as a career.
Her favorite authors include Stephen King, John Saul, Cassandra Clare,
J.K. Rowling, and Carrie Jones. In her
spare time she enjoys shopping (and when I say shopping I mean go to the mall
early in the day, eat lunch, and then keep going until you don't have any
strength left), reading great books, taking care of animals (she lives on a
farm), and searching for creative ideas to improve her home. A former writer for Harlequin, she now
publishes her books her way and loves every second of it. Okay, she's a bit of a control freak.

Friday, May 24, 2013

Today, the YA Author Club is exited to Spotlight our very own Heather Sutherlin. She's an amazing person and a phenomenal YA Author Clubcontributor who writes young adult fantasy adventures when she's not spending time with her family.

Author Bio

1999 – B.A. in Elementary Education from Harding University2011 - 1st Place White County Creative Writers’ Conference
First Chapter Contest2012 – Debut novel, A Light in the Darkness, is released
along with its sequel, To Light the Path.2013 – Seen and Wandering, two books in a new YA fantasy
series, will be released in the spring.President - Fiction Writers of Central ArkansasFeatured Author – Arkansas Literary Festival

About the Author

Heather Sutherlin lives in Arkansas with her husband and three children. She is the author of A Light In The Darkness and Seen both fantasy adventures for young adults. She loves all things creative and enjoys the worlds she dreams up, longing to live the adventure alongside her characters. When she’s not at her writing desk, she is busy exploring and learning with her children or cooking big, elaborate meals in the kitchen with her husband.

Merrilyn’s life is quiet and predictable. An apprentice to
the royal healer, she spends her days helping in the village or up to mischief
with her best friend who happens to be the handsome younger son of the king.
But when a mysterious archer shows up in the forest and shoots their escort,
Merrilyn’s life is forever changed. Caught in a battle between two forgotten
gods, she must embrace her destiny and fight the very powers of darkness before
it’s too late.

Prince Jarrod and his men have been missing for months and
still Merrilyn has no idea where they are hidden. Now the king of Zinder is
missing, too, and his children seem to think Merrilyn’s the key to finding him.
Along with Aiden and Prince Justan, she travels to Zinder looking for clues in
the king’s journals. When a mysterious man begins whispering in her dreams,
tempting her to reconsider all that she believes, she must face both her fears
and her desires. Merrilyn may be a light in the darkness, but she’ll have to
trust Loian to light their path as they travel through foreign lands and face
new enemies in their search for the missing men.

Rory has no idea what’s going on in the woods behind her
house, but it’s driving her crazy. On the last day of her senior year she finds
herself caught up once again in the curious happenings of the forest and walks
away without any of the answers she was hoping to find. To make matters worse,
she is sent to visit a sick neighbor and instead finds the hottest guy she’s
ever seen. When she discovers his brother’s incredible secret she falls further
into her own chaos and into a fate she never could have imagined.

Jaron is just counting the days until the summer is over and
he can get back to his real life. Stuck with his little brother on a tiny farm
in rural Oklahoma is not exactly his idea of fun. But when Rory shows up on his
doorstep with an armload of pie, he knows his summer has just taken a sharp
turn into new territory. He never expected the adventure they would discover
next or the quest that would change their lives forever.

Q: The #FF is 150 weeks old! And we want to hear from you! What would you change about the hop? What do you like about it? Or just suggest a question to be used for next week!

A: I'm relatively new to the #FF, but can honestly say I've been enjoying it. I'm not sure I would change anything about it. I saw a question posted a few days ago that made me think: Which do you prefer... paperback or e-book? We all have a preference. What is it and why?(Me: I like e-books for nothing more than the convenience of instantaneous ordering and the fact that I don't have to store them in my already over crowded bookshelves.) ❤

Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.

Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say “hi” in your comments and that they are now following you.

If you are using WordPress or another CMS that doesn’t have GFC (Google Friends Connect) state in your posts how you would like to be followed

Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don’t just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don’t say “HI”

If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love…and the followers

If you’re new to the follow Friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

It's been a couple of months since Emma and Lana entered the
Praxos Academy and life has been hectic ever since. What with regular A level
classes combined with learning all about the supernatural world, control
classes, self defence and fight night, the girls are constantly busy.

But when their world seems to stop right in front of them,
they and their fellow Watchers, have a huge mystery to solve. A mystery which
leads them on a long road trip across south west England where they meet all
kinds of strange creatures, some intent on causing harm and others desperate to
put a stop to the problem.

The Temporal Stone is the second full length novel in The
Morgan Sisters series. The first book is entitled The Ghost of Josiah Grimshaw.
There is also a free novella, Daisy Madigan's Paradise.

Suzy Turner has worked as a journalist, assistant editor,
features editor and magazine editor. Early in 2010 however, she began writing
full time and has since completed a trilogy for young adults, The Raven Saga,
as well as several books in The Morgan Sisters series.

Although Suzy is a Yorkshire lass at heart, she left her
home town of Rotherham, UK, to move to Portugal with her family when she was
ten.

The Algarve continues to be her home, where she lives with
her childhood sweetheart and husband of 15 years, Michael.

Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.

Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say “hi” in your comments and that they are now following you.

If you are using WordPress or another CMS that doesn’t have GFC (Google Friends Connect) state in your posts how you would like to be followed

Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don’t just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don’t say “HI”

If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love…and the followers

If you’re new to the follow Friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

This week the YA Author Clubwill be talking about the importance of categorizing your book. It seems simple, and it some cases, it is. In others... well... not so much.While I started off specifically writing a young adult book (Warriors of the Cross) that my daughter would enjoy and one we could talk about together, I quickly realized the book (and the next 3 books in the series) could never be categorized with something as simple as young adult. There were just so many other genres that fit the book's characteristics: romance, action, suspense, medical, paranormal, fantasy, saga, ghost, tragedy, and adventure.For me the book's variety makes it interesting and unexpected and a great read. At the same time, it made it much harder for me to find the perfect audience for the series. 70-80,000 books later, I can safely say the series has found its way. Its path was just a little less traveled because it was not an exact replica of stories, characters, twists, and turns already written and re-written.For my latest series, I opted - yet again - for the path less traveled. While Grave Bound is new adult... romance... action... adventure... tragedy... saga... suspense... erotica, it is not like anything else written, making it equally difficult to pigeon hole into one genre. Because it is labeled as 18+ only, the readers adding it to their TBR list appear to enjoy reading erotica. Of course, the hard-core, erotica-loving readers are often disappointed by Grave Bound because it is a real story (novel and not short story) about life-like characters. They don't start off AND end up having sex. There's a world that had to built (only because it was so different than anything we know) and characters that had to become endearing. This is mostly because I'm not big on writing (or reading) about characters that I'm supposed to instantly care about. Like my best friends, I have to get to know them before I love them enough to become emotionally vested in their tribulations. Don't get me wrong, there is sex in this Grave Bound. It is earth-shattering and passionate. It is not gratuitous or hard-core erotica. Because I have to, I label my books with a genre. I can assure you they are never perfect, but they do represent a tiny portion of what the book is and who its characters would appeal to. I have to believe others outside of the identified genre could/would enjoy the stories if they gave them a chance and stopped judging them by their 'genre'.In some ways, assigning my books to a specific genre is similar to labeling my every role (wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend, co-worker, boss, nurse, author,...) and saying I can only be one thing. For me, that's an impossible task. It depends on where I am and who I'm with as to which role I'm playing. The same can be said for my books. The genre depends on which character you are reading about, where they are in the story, and what challenges they are facing.

In order to show you how many different literary genres exist, I've includedWiIKIPEDIA's list of genre's and subgenres. After you see them, you will understand how daunting the job can be when it comes to labeling books. The links are included so feel free to explore the options.

About Me

She lives in Texas with her husband, their nineteen-year-old
daughter, and nine-year-old son. Besides being blessed with a supportive
family, she counts her career as an administrator and registered nurse in
not-for-profit hospitals among her most fulfilling accomplishments.

My Goodreads Book Shelf

Honestly, Emily's story is a hard one to write, but it is one that must be told. Her life is one worth reading about and learning from in spite of the atrocities carried out against her and the people she loves and no matter how gut-wren...

I'm excited to reveal that I've written the first book, Left, in a new series, Still Standing.
Left
is not a book I'd planned to write. It's a story that found me and would not let me go until it was done. In fact, I was near...

Everlasting by Alyson Noel.The final book of The Immortals Series is the perfect ending to a series filled with love, hate, romance, passion, regret, and the effects (positive and negative) of karma.
We've known for a while that Ever, ...

Let me start the review of Grave Bound by saying this book is an adult contemporary written for audiences 18+. The genre is solid without even a hint of paranormal, fantasy, or Christian.
There were two reasons for me to make a change ...

If healing a dying person could kill you, would you do it? That is the question Dr. Allison La Crosse must ask herself every time she gives in to her compulsion to save people who are near death. By saving them, she agrees to take on the...

Ella and Micha... could two young people be more messed up yet compliment each other more perfectly? I think not.
Jessica Sorensen has a rare talent when it comes to building sexual tension between characters, and The Secret of Ella an...

If healing a dying person could kill you, would you do it? That is the question Dr. Allison La Crosse must ask herself every time she gives in to her compulsion to save people who are near death. By saving them, she agrees to take on the...

Colleen Houck has done an incredible job of maintaining The Tiger Saga's excitement, adventure, tenderness, and passion with Tiger's Destiny. I've said before that this is one of my all-time favorite series, and with its final book, tha...

The Immortal Rules is one of those books that takes you - first - by surprise and - second - for the ride of your life. It is anything but another vampire book. It's a romance that leaves you wanting more... hoping for more.
Equally am...

I'm embarrassed to say that I purposefully avoided Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1) for a long while. I'm not a fan of the whole Cinderella story being told and retold. Mistake. Big mistake. Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1) is so deep and so uni...

Insurgent is one of those books that messes with your psyche and makes you question every character, their motives, and their actions. Veronica Roth is so talented that those who betray Tris might well have betrayed me because the acts f...

Divergent is one of those stories that pulls you in and never lets you go. Veronica Roth's talent is unquestionable. She begins this story with a scrawny and weak girl and ends with a formidable and powerful woman. This is not easily acc...

Clary, Jace, and Simon are back and better than ever in City of Lost Souls. Sebastian does a great job at replacing Valentine and manipulating Jace...much to Clary's dismay. Clary is as headstrong and committed as she's ever been...muc...

I can say with absolute certainty that Enemies of the Cross is my favorite book of The Warrior Series. Yes, I do like it more than Warriors of the Cross and Guardians of the Cross. Within it, I've ratcheted up the excitement to a point...

Tiger's Voyage is another wonderful book within one of my favorite series to date. Colleen Houck is a phenomenal author who has done a great job writing a story filled with heart-squeezing romance, unbelievably believable fantasy world...

Tiger's Quest (The Tiger Saga #2) had so many parts to it that I literally felt as if I'd read three seperate books once it was over...all equally amazing. I said with Tiger's Curse (The Tiger Saga #1) that Colleen Houck had instantanee...

This is an AMAZING... PHENOMENAL... WONDERFUL series, and it has instantly shot to the top of my personal all-time favorite series list. I should mention that I have three series tied for the top spot honors, meaning I could never choos...

Torment is a strong follow-up to Fallen. In it, we are reunited with our favorite characters (Luce, Daniel, and Cameron) and are introduced to several new ones (Miles and Shelby), who are memorable enough for us to long to see - much - ...

WHAT A FINALE!! Really...I'm not sure it could have been any better!
I loved the way E.L. James began Fifty Shades Freed. Instead of walking us through the 'same old, same old'. She moved us ahead and let us relive some of the not ...

As much as I loved Fifty Shades of Grey, this book is where the series hooks you. We begin not only seeing but also becoming angry over every childhood tragedy behind the darkness plaguing Ana's beloved Christian. Believe me, it doesn'...

Fifty Shades of Grey should absolutely positively NOT to be judged by its c...(uh. um.) genre. If you do, you will miss out on one of the best series and the most endearing, interesting, polarizing, and passionate characters I've ever ...

This novella is more about Ash and Puck's relationship than anything. Making it all the more special is the fact that it is told by Puck and his point of view. Summer's Crossing gave us a glimpse into Puck's mind and made him even more...

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. The Iron Fey Series is a great series. The Iron Knight does not disappoint when it comes to action (especially the action), adventure, and love.
No longer abstract or vague, 'the end of th...

The Iron Fey Series is the kind of series I love, and The Iron Queen is an amazing read. Believe it or not, this series gets better and better with each tender moment...each dangerous adventure...each phenomenal book. I'm sure some par...

My love for this series was sealed with this book. I adored everything about it. The love triangle is so complicated that I can't blame Meghan for falling for two wonderful people. Both guys are completely unique and endearing. Princ...

Let me start off by saying The Iron King is a wonderfully written book, and Julie Kagawa has created a great new world within it. It took me a little longer than usual to really get into it, but that was about me and not the book or the...

My biggest problem with Forever by Maggie Stiefvater is the fact that there's not a fourth book in the series (at least, not yet).
With Shiver and Linger, I enjoyed reading about Grace and Sam...the evolution of their relationship, lov...

Linger is proof that the second book in a series can be better than the first. A fact I never would have believed after finishing Shiver. When I read Maggie Stiefvater's writing, I'm amazed at the way she describes the tiniest things.....

There are many things to keep you interested while you are reading Shiver.
First, you are constantly reminded of the temperature. By the end of the book, you are conditioned to need that 'clue' to help you know if the chapter is goin...

This powerful book should come with a warning: May cause depression
Somehow, Suzanne Collins described Katniss' unbearably bleak situation from the beginning of Mockingjay until the end in such a manner that I began feeling sad myself....

Catching Fire is a phenomenal follow-up to The Hunger Games. Now that it's finished, I feel like I'm suffering from a strange compulsion...one pushing me to read Mockingjay as soon as possible in order to find out what happens to people...

The Hunger Games is one of those timeless books that will stay with you forever. In some ways, it is reminiscent of The Lottery combined with a modern-day reality show similar to Survivor. It's a talented author who can describe starvati...

Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices #2) is a fantastic follow-up to the Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices #1). Of course, I would expect nothing more from Cassandra Clare. What a phenomenal author, writer, and story-teller.
T...

Everything you loved about Warriors of the Cross becomes deeper embedded and more fully developed within each action-packed page, making Guardians of the Cross an exciting continuation.
Moving to the next level, relationships evolve...

I'll be honest...I can't give an real review on this or any of the other Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. What I can tell you is my seven year old son LOVES the books from this series enough to forego Wii, Xbox, baseball practice, and touch ...

I just finished reading (okay...listening to) Destined (House of Night #9) by P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast. It reminded me of the time in my life when I was naïve enough to think good always prevails…love was all it took…and anything was pos...

How can such a benign thing as a book of white pages filled with black words – ones that mean nothing when uttered separately – become so powerful? DO NOT GO GENTLE… DO NOT GO GENTLE… DO NOT GO GENTLE. The words resonate in my mind, re...

Silence, a great third book in a series with a long, long future. If you are a fan of Hush, Hush and Crescendo (and let's just face it...Patch), the only disappointment you will experience is the fact that the book ends. I know this be...

Even though Beelzebub Girl & the Ancient Legends Series is brimming with vampires, fallen angels, and demons, Jayde Scott continues to do a great job at creating and MAINTAINING an original story-line that will keep readers coming back a...